Los Angeles voters were given a menu of possible reforms on the Nov. 5 ballot aimed at the Los Angeles City Council and the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The initial round of results was composed entirely of vote-by-mail ballots that arrived before Election Day.
Early election results for six measures that would alter Los Angeles city governance showed one key reform ahead, Charter Amendment DD. Amendment DD would restrict the ability of city council members to draw the boundary lines of their own council districts — a long and controversial practice.
A similar measure aimed at LAUSD’s elected board was ahead in early results. It would create an independent redistricting commission responsible for setting district boundaries for the seven members of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education.
Meanwhile, Charter Amendment LL was ahead, Charter Amendment ER was ahead, Charter Amendment FF was ahead, Charter Amendment HH was ahead, and Charter Amendment II was ahead, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
If approved by voters, the measures will impact decisions on how to handle city redistricting, police pensions, and operation of city departments.
Here’s a list of the six ballot measures proposed to reform and revamp Los Angeles city government.
LIVE ELECTION RESULTS: See a chart of the latest vote counts
Charter Amendment DD: Independent Redistricting (City Council)
Every ten years, following the release of new U.S. Census data, cities undergo a process known as “redistricting” to update city council district boundaries, ensuring they reflect population changes in various neighborhoods.
Updating these maps aims to balance council districts, ensuring each council member represents a similar number of residents. It also seeks to give historically underrepresented groups a fair chance to elect preferred candidates by keeping racial or ethnic communities intact.
For the past century in L.A., city council members have held the authority to finalize district boundaries, allowing them to shape their districts in ways that could favor their reelection.
Charter Amendment DD proposed establishing an independent redistricting commission that operated without interference from council members. Instead of being appointed by elected officials, commissioners would be chosen through a process managed by the city clerk.
The push for an independent redistricting commission gained renewed attention after the 2022 audio leak scandal, which critics saw as an attempt by some council members to manipulate the last redistricting process.
Charter Amendment LL: Independent Redistricting (LAUSD)
Charter Amendment LL would create an independent redistricting commission responsible for setting district boundaries for the seven members of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education.
The city clerk would randomly select one commissioner from each of the seven districts. The seven would then review additional applications and select seven more members, considering relevant experience and knowledge of LAUSD neighborhoods, in an effort to reflect the diversity of LAUSD’s stakeholders.
At least four of the 14 commissioners must be parents or guardians of an LAUSD student at the time of selection. These 14 commissioners would also appoint four alternate members.
Charter Amendment ER: City Ethics Commission
Charter Amendment ER aims to grant the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission enhanced authority and independence, enabling it to enforce city and state laws more effectively in areas such as campaign finance, contracts, lobbying, and ethics regulations. The commission has the power to issue fines to officials, lobbyists, and others who breach the city’s ethics rules.
Efforts to strengthen the ethics commission have been longstanding, but recent interest has surged due to several corruption scandals in L.A. City Hall. Following these scandals, government advocates seek to give more power to an ethics commission.
Charter Amendment FF: Peace Officers’ Pensions
Most of Los Angeles’s city employees participate in the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System (LACERS), but firefighters and police officers have a separate pension plan known as the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension (LAFPP).
Active peace officers in the city are enrolled in the LAFPP. But about 460 peace officers and park rangers in the city’s police, airport, harbor, and recreation and parks departments remain in the LACERS system. Charter Amendment FF would enable them to transfer from LACERS to the LAFPP pension plan, with the city covering the associated costs.
Charter Amendment HH: City Governance, Appointments and Elections
Amendment HH seeks to revise and clarify provisions in the city charter related to governance, political appointments and elections.
If the amendment is passed, some of the changes include requiring commission appointees to submit their financial disclosure forms before confirmation, addressing past issues where some appointments proceeded without disclosure of potential conflicts of interest; extending the city attorney’s subpoena power to allow for subpoenaing witnesses, administering oaths and affirmations; and allowing the City Council a 30-day period to assess the financial impacts of a public-initiated initiative or referendum before deciding to adopt, repeal, or place it on the ballot.
Charter Amendment II: City Administration and Operations
This measure is intended to improve the efficiency and operation of city departments. Among other changes, it would clarify that city departments may sell concession items, such as merchandise or food, to raise money for the department; and would allow the Department of Recreation and Parks to lease sites to the Los Angeles Unified School District for constructing buildings consistent with public park uses; and would require all zoning rules and regulations be available for public inspection under the California Public Records Act.
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Councilmember Paul Krekorian, who chairs the council’s governance reform ad hoc committee, said Charter Amendment II would update the city charter to make city services more efficient, transparent and accountable.